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seedarklyxeroWelcome to SeeDarkly Sunday DisCOVERies:
a weekly exploration of goth, industrial, & dark alternative cover songs!
First time here? Click here for details from first entry.
There are those who have the attitude that covers of some artists are inexcusable: a sin committed by those unworthy upstarts not remotely talented enough to be up to the task of giving cherished idols proper respect. Certainly in some cases it can be difficult to do justice to the music of particularly unique legendary acts. On today's Third Sunday Throwback, our exploration of covers from the 20th century, I present one of those few exceptions:
Nine Inch Nails - Get Down Make Love (Queen)
Queen's sixth studio album, News of the World, was released just days before Halloween in 1977. This multi-platinum LP is the single best selling album of their careers and included their smash hits We Are the Champions and We Will Rock You. The cover art of the album, featuring a huge robot holding the dead bodies of the band members, was altered from its original design by artist Frank Kelly Freas, who first painted it for Astounding Science Fiction in 1953 to illustrate Tom Godwin's short story, The Gulf Between. The cover was considered disturbing enough at the time that certain outlets required a variant on the artwork that excluded the dead bodies before they would sell the album.
The first track of the b-side, Get Down, Make Love was written entirely by Freddie Mercury and is considered one of the most sexually charged tracks in the band's discography.
It's hardly a surprise then that Trent Reznor found himself inspired to cover that one of all their songs. Nine Inch Nails released Sin, the third single from their debut album Pretty Hate Machine, in October of 1990. As a b-side track, they included their cover of Get Down, Make Love, which later Reznor allegedly asserted was only supposed to be "tongue-in-cheek." The cover has also been included on the 2010 remastered reissue of Pretty Hate Machine.
While the original is sparse in structure throughout its whole, until its build-ups to chaotic frenzy climax and reset, NIN's version is fuller and more consistent with its electronic melodies and industrial rhythms. The cover opens with samples from the titular character of the 1962 film, The Cabinet of Caligari, continues with samples from assorted Japanese porn, and comes to its completion with one last sample from Queen's We Will Rock You; all of which adds to the heightened aggressive sexual energy of the song, above and beyond that of the original's more subtle striptease sensibilities.
Nine Inch Nail's cover of Queen is arguably one of the best, building on the original's erotic foundation to even greater salacious and provocative effect:
The Cover:
The Original:
Next week:
Where the cover in question might be a challenge to those who believe angels exist.
Comments, suggestions, discussions, etc... welcome!
Today's track is among those I could possibly play at the 80's/90's night I spin every Sunday. Links, details, and more about my schedule . ^_^
Explore the darkness,
-Xero
Previous DisCOVERies
July 10 - Portishead - SOS (ABBA)
July 03 - Mechanical Cabaret - Desperate But Not Serious (Adam Ant)
June 26 - Neuroticfish - They're Coming to Take Me Away (Napoleon XIV)
June 19 - Psychedelic Furs - Mack The Knife (Kurt Gerron)
June 12 - Cancerface - Disease (Insight 23)
Directory of All Previous DisCOVERies
a weekly exploration of goth, industrial, & dark alternative cover songs!
First time here? Click here for details from first entry.
There are those who have the attitude that covers of some artists are inexcusable: a sin committed by those unworthy upstarts not remotely talented enough to be up to the task of giving cherished idols proper respect. Certainly in some cases it can be difficult to do justice to the music of particularly unique legendary acts. On today's Third Sunday Throwback, our exploration of covers from the 20th century, I present one of those few exceptions:
Nine Inch Nails - Get Down Make Love (Queen)
Queen's sixth studio album, News of the World, was released just days before Halloween in 1977. This multi-platinum LP is the single best selling album of their careers and included their smash hits We Are the Champions and We Will Rock You. The cover art of the album, featuring a huge robot holding the dead bodies of the band members, was altered from its original design by artist Frank Kelly Freas, who first painted it for Astounding Science Fiction in 1953 to illustrate Tom Godwin's short story, The Gulf Between. The cover was considered disturbing enough at the time that certain outlets required a variant on the artwork that excluded the dead bodies before they would sell the album.
The first track of the b-side, Get Down, Make Love was written entirely by Freddie Mercury and is considered one of the most sexually charged tracks in the band's discography.
It's hardly a surprise then that Trent Reznor found himself inspired to cover that one of all their songs. Nine Inch Nails released Sin, the third single from their debut album Pretty Hate Machine, in October of 1990. As a b-side track, they included their cover of Get Down, Make Love, which later Reznor allegedly asserted was only supposed to be "tongue-in-cheek." The cover has also been included on the 2010 remastered reissue of Pretty Hate Machine.
While the original is sparse in structure throughout its whole, until its build-ups to chaotic frenzy climax and reset, NIN's version is fuller and more consistent with its electronic melodies and industrial rhythms. The cover opens with samples from the titular character of the 1962 film, The Cabinet of Caligari, continues with samples from assorted Japanese porn, and comes to its completion with one last sample from Queen's We Will Rock You; all of which adds to the heightened aggressive sexual energy of the song, above and beyond that of the original's more subtle striptease sensibilities.
Nine Inch Nail's cover of Queen is arguably one of the best, building on the original's erotic foundation to even greater salacious and provocative effect:
The Cover:
The Original:
Next week:
Where the cover in question might be a challenge to those who believe angels exist.
Comments, suggestions, discussions, etc... welcome!
Today's track is among those I could possibly play at the 80's/90's night I spin every Sunday. Links, details, and more about my schedule . ^_^
Explore the darkness,
-Xero
Previous DisCOVERies
July 10 - Portishead - SOS (ABBA)
July 03 - Mechanical Cabaret - Desperate But Not Serious (Adam Ant)
June 26 - Neuroticfish - They're Coming to Take Me Away (Napoleon XIV)
June 19 - Psychedelic Furs - Mack The Knife (Kurt Gerron)
June 12 - Cancerface - Disease (Insight 23)
Directory of All Previous DisCOVERies